BY MIKE TAYLOR
Walnut – The Mt. San Antonio College Flying Team won the Top Community College Trophy at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s national competition held May 12-17 at Ohio State University. The win marks the sixth time since 2000 that Mt. SAC has won the national award. “It’s been a phenomenal run this year, and this is a great team that has put in a lot of hard work to achieve this,” said Mt. SAC Flying Team Advisor and Aeronautics Professor, Robert Rogus. With 76 points, Mt. SAC topped second-place Colorado Northwestern Community College with 27 points, and third-place Central Texas College with 14 points, to win the two-year college trophy. Mt. SAC’s Josh Spolar (West Covina) won second place in the instrumental flight event, and Evelyn Marquez (Pomona) and Spolar placed fifth in the message drop event. Manutea Maurin (Diamond Bar) was the Mt. SAC top scoring contestant with 32 points. The airmeet included over 275 competitors from 27 teams that included Southern Illinois University, Ohio State, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Overall, Mt. SAC placed 14th overall against both university and two-year colleges. Over the years, the Mt. SAC Flying Team has consistently earned top honors as one of the best collegiate flying teams in the country. The team has won the Top Community College trophy at the regional competition every year since 1991. Mt. SAC has won the Top U.S. Community College award at the national airmeet in 1984, 1985, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2007.
